Forward Observers

This week The Forward Observers challenge some of the conventional wisdom coming out of Washington.  Dr. Daveed Gartensein-Ross, from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy joins the program to discuss how Al Qaeda is far stronger and a greater threat in the longterm than what President Obama and his administration are asserting. And at the same time, even though ISIS is becoming more barbaric and violent, the organization isn’t nearly as powerful as the media thinks it is. As he recently wrote, “What ISIS does have is an uncanny knack for scaring the audience it wants to scare: us. And we, addicted as many of us are to horror and violence in popular culture, seem perversely eager to be frightened.” In this conversation we’ll learn why beating ISIS may be difficult, but weakening it should be much easier. We’ll also find out why ISIS may be undermining it’s own success and why it’s essential for America to have a policy toward Syria. For more background, don’t miss Dr. Gartenstein-Ross’s invaluable book, Bid Laden’s Legacy: Why We’re Still Losing the War on Terror  Don’t miss an episode of The Forward Observers: Subscribing on iTunes. And while you’re here, check out the new and improved Ricochet Store … and buy something for the thoughtful Valentine in your life. Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/can-isis-defeated/.Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.Subscribe to Forward Observers by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

This week the Forward Observers discuss a must-read article, “ISIS Has a Message. Do We?” The author, Daily Beast’s Jamie Dettmer, joins the show to discuss this troubling point: “Denouncing murder and enslavement should be an easy task, but for Western governments determined to counter the narrative of the militants of the self-styled Islamic State, it is proving much trickier than they thought.” How is it possible ISIS has more effective marketing than the forces of freedom in The West? Dettmer discusses the marketing and social media tools that ISIS is using effectively and why The West’s message is ineffective (and kind of nonexistent). Then Rebecca talks with the Washington Free Beacon’s Aaron MacLean about his recent trip to Israel, the future of Israel, and an election on the horizon that could increase international turmoil.   Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/now-message-isis/.Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.Subscribe to Forward Observers by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

The Senate Intelligence Committee, chaired by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), released a summary of its report on the CIA’s post-September 11 interrogation and detention techniques. And is North Korea really capable of hacking into Sony? A Block: Blockbuster Hacks and Bigger Threats Was North Korea really behind the hacking of Sony? A week before the FBI or the media figured it out, our guest was raising legitimate questions about the source of the hacks. The Heritage Foundation’s Riley Walters joins the Forward Observers to explain why North Korea probably wasn’t behind this attack … and why America should be more concerned about the Chinese. Also, if the cyber war is taking place behind the scenes, what kind of attack would be necessary to make this war a top concern in the minds of Americans? B Block: First Look at the CIA’s Dungeons Rebecca and Dan also take you through some of the grim details in the report on the CIA’s detention and interrogation programs that the Senate Intelligence Committee released today. In his statement, President Obama appears like he wants to be both tough on terror and tough on the CIA. Meanwhile, Guantanamo Bay. Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/dungeons-dragons-hollywood-blockbusters/.Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.Subscribe to Forward Observers by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

Putin Plays a Game of Thrones And What We Don’t Know About Islam May Kill Us On this week’s episode of Forward Observers, Clifford D. May, the president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, joins the conversation with AEI’s Rebecca Burgess to talk about recent terror plots that British intelligence uncovered and the threats that we still face. Do our enemies understand us better then we understand them? In order to delegitimize and defeat totalitarian philosophies, we need to understand them first. And then Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t thrilled about plummeting oil prices. How is cheaper energy going to disrupt global economies and international relations? As the Free Beacon’s Daniel Wiser writes, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela will all face budget deficits, and their economies are already in bad shape. Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/winter-coming/.Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.Subscribe to Forward Observers by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

Yet another Secretary of Defense gets the boot and a dagger in his back. Sec. Hagel is the third Defense Secretary to leave his post in such a manner. So who would be insane enough to take the job next? In the B Block, the Vienna talks fell apart, but Iran assures everyone that they’re still living up to their commitments. Meanwhile they’ll also be eligible for $700 million a month in “frozen assets.” Is this Smart Diplomacy in action again? This week AEI's Rebecca Burgess is joined by Aaron MacLean, Managing Editor of the Washington Free Beacon and Daniel Wiser, the Free Beacon‘s national security and human rights reporter.       Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/kerry-learned-stop-worrying-love-nuclear-iran/.Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.Subscribe to Forward Observers by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

It sounds like an X Files episode: An American working with classified military technology is found dead in his apartment in a foreign country. Even though the evidence points to murder, the governments of China, Singapore, and the United States all agree it was a suicide. In Episode 8 of Forward Observers, Rebecca introduces the Ricochet audience to Christina Villegas, co-author of Hard Drive: A Family’s Fight Against Three Countries. The book chronicles the “grueling battle to reveal the truth against powerful forces that have sought to conceal, destroy, or discredit evidence indicating homicide” in the death of Dr. Shane Todd. Does this story go all the way up to America’s Ambassador to China? Plus, the Free Beacon’s Dan Wiser takes us inside the climate debate on Capitol Hill. There’s a lot of China in this week’s program. Whether or not they’re the good guys or the bad guys is definitely up for debate. Let us know what you think in the comment section. Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/governments-deceive-inveigle-obfuscate/.Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.Subscribe to Forward Observers by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

The Berlin Wall may have fallen 25 years ago, but are East-West relations better today? The Heritage Foundation’s Michaela Dodge brings the perspective of both a national security analyst and an Eastern European. We’ll also tell you about the DC think tank working to establish a nuclear Iran. What’s the worst thing that could happen? NOTE: The show formerly known as Ricochet’s Foreign Affairs podcast is now Forward Observers. We hope you’ll enjoy the weekly podcast on foreign relations and foreign affairs.   Photo Credit: West Germans peer through a hole in the Berlin Wall. Source: German Federal Archive. Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/wall-will-liberal-democracies-fall-next/.Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.Subscribe to Forward Observers by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

With significant changes taking place abroad, how is American foreign policy impacting the midterm elections? The Ricochet foreign affairs team discusses elections around the world and at home. How is our foreign policy shaping races and how will the midterms impact the future of our foreign policy? There are also a significant number of veterans running for office and if Joni Ernst defeats Bruce Braley in Iowa, she will become the first female combat veteran to serve in the United States Senate. PHOTO CREDIT: U.S. Marines exit a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter on Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, Oct. 27, 2014. The Marines transitioned to Kandahar Airfield following the end of Regional Command Southwest operations in Helmand province. The Marines are assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regional Command Southwest. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Dustin D. March Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/vote-locally-think-globally/.Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.Subscribe to Forward Observers by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

A Block: Doomed To Repeat The Rewritten Past? The New York Times told readers that Henry Kissenger’s World Order is “a book that every member of Congress should be locked in a room with -- and forced to read before taking the oath of office.” But is our 56th Secretary of State trying to rewrite history? David Adesnik, AEI’s visiting fellow at the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies, puts a thorough end to the love fest over Kissenger’s latest book writing for the Free Beacon, “Kissenger’s aggressive reshaping of the past has escaped public notice.” Adesnik’s critique did not escape the notice of Ricochet’s Foreign Affairs team and we enjoyed a long conversation with him about Kissenger’s book and the history of American foreign policy. B Block: Does The War of The Week Need a Weather Czar? One of our regular panelists, Aaron Maclean, writes this week that the Defense Department declared war on the weather. How will this new front be fought? Will American military decisions be clouded by … clouds? Read the roadmap and join the conversation below. Seriously, it’s called the 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap. Don’t forget to check out the back cover. C Block: WMDs, Found ‘Em! The New York Times reports there Saddam Hussein had WMD’s in Iraq. But Bush still lied and people died, right? If only we knew who refused to tell the world we found WMDs in Iraq. Oh, and Venezuela will be on the United Nations Security Council starting in January. What’s the worst thing that could happen? Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/kissingers-world-order/.Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.Subscribe to Forward Observers by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

In Politics They Say Demographics Is Destiny. Does the Same Apply to Foreign Affairs? A BLOCK: Ebola at Our Border The government begins checking people who travel to the Unites States from Western Africa. But is it enough? Some are calling for us to close our borders. Is that political posturing? Or sign of “respect for the medical steps needed to contain Ebola,” as Ben Carson suggests. B BLOCK: Jefferson, Hamilton, Jackson & ISIS Along with an update of our efforts to defeat ISIS, we have an in-depth conversation inspired by Michael Barone’s recent column about the foregoing policy traditions of America. And how Obama doesn’t really fit any of them. C BLOCK: A Worldwide Millennial Problem? Rob Long recently posted an interesting piece about the extraordinarily young median age on continent of Africa. This prompted the Foreign Affairs team to consider the longterm policy implications as well as looking at the young populations around the world — from China to the Middle East — that are causing unrest. As the panel points out, when young men don’t have jobs and can’t find mates, bad things follow. PHOTO CREDIT: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Sara Keller U.S. airmen load cargo onto the ramp of a C-130-J Super Hercules aircraft on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Oct. 7, 2014, to prepare for a mission to help contain the Ebola outbreak in Liberia. U.S. Africa Command is supporting the U.S. Agency for International Development as part of Operation United Assistance, a comprehensive U.S. government effort to contain the outbreak. Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/closing-borders-millennial-problem-goes-global/.Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.Subscribe to Forward Observers by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

With yet another beheading today, the menace of the Islamic State appears to be here to stay. Our coalition is growing, but are we winning on every front? A BLOCK: Winning the Wrong Battle Against The Islamic State President Obama may be winning the war of public opinion. But the war against the Islamic State is being waged in the air, on the ground, and online as well. And the West may be losing the latter … or are we? B BLOCK The Chinese State vs. British Liberalism The Umbrella Revolution popped up recently, but what is it really about and is it here to stay? Political freedom and economic growth may not be the hallmarks of communist societies, but what’s happening in China today could impact the country for years. C BLOCK: The Ukraine, Ebola, and Batman and Moses The Russians seem to have no problem ignoring the ceasefire in the Ukraine. The reason why the Ukraine won’t violate the ceasefire tells you everything you need to know about Vladimir Putin. And as Ebola is coming to America, are the calls to restrict travel to the West from Western Africa too extreme? Another way to think of it, would it be too extreme to lock the front door of the White House? And then Ridley Scott’s new film Gods and Kings features Christian Bale as Moses. Is there anything we can learn about foreign affairs and public policy from Hollywood? This week AEI's Rebecca Burgess is joined by Aaron MacLean, Managing Editor of the Washington Free Beacon and Daniel Wiser, the Free Beacon’s national security and human rights reporter. Let us know what you think in the comment section. And if you have a minute, you can read ahead for next week’s discussion, check out Michael Barone’s piece on the four traditions of American foreign policy, and how President Obama doesn’t really fit into one. Photo Courtesies: United States Department of Defense Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/netwar-isis-plus-batman-moses/.Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.Subscribe to Forward Observers by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

President Obama went to the United Nations this week with three items on his agenda: The Islamic State, global warming, and Ebola. In Episode 1 of Foreign Affairs we had a comprehensive conversation about Ebola. This week our conversation focuses on the growing war against the Islamic State, anti-terror strategies being developed in the West, and the global climate change agenda is on the front pages once again. This week AEI's Rebecca Burgess is joined by Aaron MacLean, Managing Editor of the Washington Free Beacon and Daniel Wiser, the Free Beacon’s national security and human rights reporter. A BLOCK: The Islamic State We focus on the growing coalition joining the war against the Islamic State. We also learn how the Syrian Kurds have received no Western support. That needs to change. B BLOCK: Australia & Anti-Terror response from the West Glenn Greenwald sings the familiar tune that anti-terror tactics are designed to be power grabs by fear-mongering politicians. We take a serious look at what countries in the West are doing to keep their citizens safe. C BLOCK: The Global Climate Change Agenda President Obama went to the United Nations and called upon China to reduce greenhouse emissions. But is the global warming movement being met by cold feet by other global leaders? Let us know what you think about the podcast below. And if there’s a global hotspot you’d like to hear more about, we’d like to hear it from you as well. Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/united-states-v-islamic-state-global-warming/.Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.Subscribe to Forward Observers by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

Making Sense of A Seemingly Senseless World Ebola got you down? Are you reluctant to welcome our Chinese over lords? Did you really want to wake up this morning and yell, “Freeeeeeeeeee-dom!” Wow, you kinda had a rotten Friday … which is why we’re here to help. The latest addition to Ricochet’s podcast line up is a salon on global affairs. Each week we’ll bring you a rotating cast of journalists, policy makers, deep thinkers, and reports from people in far-away places. This week’s host is Ben Judge, of the Claremont Institute’s Center for Political Philosophy and Statesmanship. He’s joined by AEI’s Rebecca Burgess, Aaron MacLean, Managing Editor of the Washington Free Beacon and Daniel Wiser, the Free Beacon’s national security and human rights reporter. After pleasantries and introductions we jump right into an in-depth interview about Iraq and the Islamic State with Professor Wayne Hsieh of the United States Naval Academy. Hsieh served as a senior civilian US Government official in Iraq, and worked primarily on ethnic political issues. He brings an incredible perspective on the challenges we face.  We conclude the episode by globetrotting through multiple hot spots, while trying to develop an understanding for what each situation means for the United States. We look forward to bringing you a weekly conversation about global issues with a global perspective. And we want you to join the conversation, so let us know what you think in the comment section below.   Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/ladies-gentlemen-foreign-affairs/.Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.Subscribe to Forward Observers by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.